Florida - Siesta Beach

This is one of our favourite places to come and relax. We have been coming to this beach since 1979. We were introduced to the island of Siesta Key by Jay Jaffe, a local dentist and runner, who invited us to come to his house and go for a run on the beach. This was during a medical meeting in Sarasota. We certainly agreed with the National Geographic, who rated the sand on Siesta as the best sand in the country. This year, 1998, Siesta beach was rated 17th best beach in the world.

One of the reasons that we have always enjoyed this beach is the running and biking that you can do on the beach.  In the good old days, we used to run, now we beach bike.(with a bud)

We enjoy our time at the beach, mainly because of many friends. Shay and Jim West are enjoying retirement in Paradise. They have a great spot to watch and toast the sunset.

The condo at Peppertree has been our 'home away from home' for 20 years. During the year of the hip, I actually had 3 months to try out retirement. The conclusion, maybe it's a little too soon. Not so, says Carole. We did learn how to stop and smell the roses. We also learned how important it is to watch the sunset, there are only so many left. We became experts at choosing the appropriate wine for sunset!

The island of Siesta Key offers lots of varied entertainment; one of our favourites is going out to dinner. Here at the Boatyard, you can eat on the patio that is right on the water. We go to the village of Siesta Key to eat out, but when it comes to dining out, there are some great choices; Summerhouse, Ophelia's, Javier's, Surfrider, Coasters, Portabello, Gastronemia, and Michael's on East.

There are lots of reasonably priced golf courses; Seronoa, Foxfire, Oak Ford, Tatum Ridge, Stoneybrook, just to name a few.